Burner for liquid fuel



Au 15, 1939; J, BREES 2,169,755

BURNER FOR LIQUID FUEL Original Filed Feb. 8, 1957 [721/672 07" I Janeen L.Z7"ee,6e

Patented Aug. 15, 1939 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BURNER FOR. LIQUID FUEL James L. Breese, Santa Fe, N; Mex., assignor'to 7 Oil Devices, Santa Fe, N. Mex., a limited partnership of Illinois I Original application February 8, 1937, Serial No.

124,695. Divided and this application September 11, 1937, Serial No, 163,370

6 Claims.

characteristic mode of combustion described, for

example, in my prior issued Patent No. 1,702,929, issued'on February 19, 1929.

Another purpose is the provision of means for permitting low draft burning with such a burner, while preventing down drafts from upper portions of the combustion chamber, which would disadvantageously affect combustion.

Another purpose is the provision, in connection with one of my burners, of a lower supplementary burner which. may have the functions of a pilot light for maintaining combustion during periods when a niinimum heat or no heat is desired.-

Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the specification and claims.

The present application is a division of my application Serial No. 124,695, filed February 8, 1937.

I illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is av vertical axial section; and

Figure 2'is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specification and drawing.

Referring to the drawing, I generally indicates an outer furnace or heater shell having a combustion chamber 2 spaced therefrom by a horizontal partition 3 provided with a central aperture 4. 5 is a preferably removable upper bafile with a central aperture 6. The combustion chamber or.mixing chamber is herein shown as cylindrical with a bottom 8 which may be formed if desired in one piece with the side walls 2 and may be secured in any suitable fashion to the member 3. I0 is any suitable fuel supply pipe extending to the bottom 8 or positioned to deliver fuel thereto. The means for supplying the fuel is not herein shown since it does not of itself form part of the presentinvention, but it will be understood that any suitable float chamber or the like may be employed for governing the desired flow of fuel, for example a liquid hydrocarbon, to the bottom 8.

It is a closure member secured within the shell 15 which space it upwardly from the floor and permit air to flow through theapertures I 4 and thus enter and 2.

The member 2 is provided with an upper row of secondary air inlet apertures I6 herein shown as upwardly and inwardly inclined. A plurality 5 of preferably smaller apertures I! are shown as arranged in rows in the lower portion of the the space between the members I member 2. The bottom row 18 is also indicated.

Positioned above the bottom row l8 and below the lowest of the rows I1 is a fixed baffie i9 having a central aperture 20. Mounted partially to close the central aperture is a baiiie ring 2| herein shown as rotatable about a horizontalaxisidefined by the rod 22 journaled in the bearing 23 andthe rod 24 journaled in the bearing 25. The rod 24 hasan outwardly extending portion 26 terminating in a manually controllable handle 21. The baffle 2i is provided with a central aperture 28.

When a minimum aperture is desired, the parts are positioned in the full line position of Figure 1, which position is also indicated in Figure 2. When a maximum aperture is desired, the operator rotates the handle 27 and thereby moves the baflie 2| into the dotted line position of Figure 1. When in the first position the aperture 28 is the only connection between theportion of the chamber below the baiiles and the portion above. When the parts are moved into the dotted line position then the maximum aperture 20 serves as the connection.

In the normal operation of the device, the characteristic combustion method of my Patent No. 1,702,929 may be carried on. The primary air supply enters through the apertures I1 and mingles with the hydrocarbon vaporized by combustion. The heat of combustion, once the device is in operation, vaporizes the hydrocarbon and the vaporized hydrocarbon rises and mixes with the primary air supply toform a primary mixture. This primary mixture moves upwardly toward and through the aperture 6 of the baffle 5 and there receives the secondary air supply admitted through the apertures Hi. This produces a final mixture which burns and provides the heat fo the stove or furnace unit.

Preferably, whether by natural draft orby any suitable fan or the like, not herein shown, suflicient air is admitted for maintaining combustion at a rate sufficient to give the desired heat.- .Any 50 suitable control means, thermostatic or otherwise, may be employed for controlling the desired heat produced.

In the event that it is desired to turn down the unit to a. minimum heat, onto practically no r by produced. I find that in practice there is a heat, the air supply is reduced and combustion is correspondingly reduced. In a structure such as that shown in my Patent No. 1,702,929 there is a limit below which the stove does not operate efficiently. For example, unless a sufflcient air supply and sufficient rate of combustion is maintained, the secondary air or the air above the baiiie 5 tends to eddy back and circulate down into the primary combustion zone, with the result that the balance between the primary and secondary zones is destroyed and my method of combustion is interrupted, resulting in carbon deposit and ineflicient combustion.

In practice, the smaller the effective opening of the battle 2|, the lower is the possible minimum flame, and the greater the possible turn down of the pilot light or minimum flame therecritical point in the size of the aperture, taken in connection with the position of the baiile or its height from the bottom of the. chamber, at which the aperture is adequate to support pilot light combustion when ignition has already begun, but

is insufficient to support ignition when the device is being initially lighted. However, in order to obtain a sufficient turn down, it is important to be able to locate ,the' baiiie so low in the chamber and with so small a central aperture as to make the initiation of combustion difllcult or impossible when the baflie is in the horizontal-position in which it is shown in Figure 1.

I find, however, that by making the baiile movable or rotatable in order to permit theeflective aperture to be increased, this difficulty is overcome. Thus, when initiating combustion with the structure herein shown, the baiile II can be tilted into the dotted line position of Figure 1 or some intermediate position between the dotted line and full line positions. Liquid fuel is then admitted to the bottom of the combustion chamber and ignition is started by dropping a lighted match, lighted piece of paper or the like into the bottom of the burner.

' With the baiile II in its tilted position there is ample air to support initial combustion. As soon as the oil is initially ignited and gassiilcation has begun, the operator can then tilt the baffle 2i into horizontal or almost horizontal position and the device is then ready for normal operation. Even though the oil is then cut down to a minimum flow, the device will burn with little if any free carbon. Thus I permit the operator to have the benefit, in a single burner, of a readily lightable device which, when once lighted, can be 'inthefulllineposition line to the dotted line the time of initiation of turned down to a minimum flame and to a minimum fuel consumption.

I and that the interposition of the baiile herein shown at It, 2| prevents this down draft and my primary mixing and combustion may be .carried on by means of the holes it. some or all of the holes N then serve to provide the secondary air. In other words, when the partsare of Figure 1 the primary air zone is moved down to or limited to the lower holes ll below the bailie and the holes above the baiiie which previously operated as a source of primary air then become a source of secondary air. This change is made in response to rotation of the central portion II of the baille by use of the handle 21. when it is rotated from the full position an increased supply of air enters the space below the baiile ll. This increased supply of air may be employed at combustion. Thereafter, 1: a low flame is desired or in effect a pilot light, a

the parts are restored to their full line position and there is a minimum air connection between the two chambers. This chokes down in effect the combustion and changes the function of the first three rows of apertures above the baffle is from that of primary air supply to that of secondary air supply.

It will be realized that whereas I have described and illustrated a practical and operative device, nevertheless many changes may be made in the size, shape, number and disposition of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore wish my description and drawing to be taken as in a broad sense illustrative or diagrammatic rather than as limiting me to my precise showing.

I claim:

1. A mechanism for burning liquid fuel which includes a chamber and means for admitting a liquid fuel to the bottom thereof, a wall for said chamber provided with a plurality of air apertures positioned above the level of the liquid fuel, and a battle ring rotatably positioned in said chamber intermediate the top and bottom thereof for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, said ring having a central aperture, and a fixed baiiie ring having an aperture conforming generally to the periphery of the movable ring and lying generally in the plane of the axis of rotation of said movable ring.

2. A mechanism for burning liquid fuel which includes a chamber and means for admitting liquid fuel to the bottom thereof, a wall for said chamber provided with a plurality of air apertures positioned above the level of the liquid fuel, a baflle member located in said chamber intermediate the upper and lower of said apertures. an aperture in said baflie member, and means for varying the effective cross sectional area of said aperture.

3. A mechanism for burning liquid fuel which includes a chamber having a wall with air admission apertures therein, means for admitting a liquid fuel to the bottom of the chamber, said chamber having an open top, a bailie normally located in the lower half of the chamber but above the lowest of said apertures, said baille having an aperture therein, the size of the aperture in relation to the form and cubic content of the chamber and the height of the baille from the chamber bottom being of sufllcient size to maintain combustion within the portion of the chamber below said baiile, after combustion has been initiated, but being insufflcient to permit combustion to be initiated, and means for admitting an excess supply of air, including means for rotating said baille about a horizontal axis intersecting the central vertical axis of the chamber.

4. A mechanism for burning a liquid fuel which includes a chamber having a wall provided with chambers. 1

5. A mechanism for burning a liquid fuel which includes a chamber having a wall with air admission apertures therein, means foradmitting the communicating aperture between said suba liquid fuel to the chamber, said chamber hav- 1:

a liquid fuel to the-chamber, said chamber having an open top, a fixed baflie located intermediate the top and bottom of said chamber and intermediate the highest and lowest of the air aperture, a movable baflle located in said aperture, and means for changingthe-position of the 1 movable -baiile in said aperture.

6. A mechanism for burning a liquid fuel which 7 includes a. chamber having a wall with air admission apertures therein, means for admitting admission apertures, said baiiie-having a central 5 aperture, a centrally apertured movable baflle located in said aperture, and means for changing the position ture.

of the movable baflie in said aper- JAMES L. BREESE. 1o 

